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The table was already set and the food sat warm on the stove, waiting for her return. She could sense Zeke’s surprised look more than anything and focused on not meeting it as she brought the food to the table.
If she thought their encounter in the woods was bad, she wasn’t prepared for the awkwardness of sharing their meal. He was quiet, and just like before, he continued to glance at her. It got to the point where she needed to just break through the glass of tension she could feel around them.
Agatha lifted her head, not at all surprised to find him staring at her. “What’s happening today?”
Zeke wiped his mouth with his napkin and settled back in his seat. “Tuck said we should be getting the new flooring in today.”
“Really? I thought we wouldn’t install the flooring for at least a few more weeks.”
He shook his head. “We won’t be installing the flooring. We have to paint first. If we do it that way, then we run a smaller risk of ruining it. Then after paint and flooring, we’ll get the cabinets installed. From there it’s tiling, baseboards, and finishing the bathroom upstairs.”
“Sounds like everything is falling into place. How much time do you think that will take? A month or two?”
Zeke shook his head, another soft laugh on his lips. “All of the framework and drywall got done fast because we had a lot of men on site. From this point forward, it’s only going to be Tuck and me.”
It was hard to fight the disappointment. That is until she realized she’d have an excuse to spend more time with Zeke. She stole another glance at him, wondering how the next several weeks would go if she were open to getting to know him more on his level. Now that he’d stopped bossing her around, he was actually a joy to visit with.
Agatha turned her focus to her food. “I hear Grace is expecting. She’s the one who’s married to Tristan, right?”
“It’s Dianna who’s expecting.”
She ducked her head. “Sorry. I must have gotten them mixed up. I don’t know how you did it all on your own—raising seven girls, I mean. That had to be incredibly difficult.” Agatha half-expected him to play it off like most parents did. But she was wrong.
“It was hard.” He said it simply. There was no smirk nor a hardened stare. Zeke was just matter-of-fact about the whole thing. “When you have seven girls and they don’t have a mother figure to go to when things get…” He cleared his throat, the first sign of discomfort. “… rough. But I think we came out all right.”
“Based on what I’ve seen, I’d say you’re right.” She said it softly, referring to the fine young men his daughters ended up with.
“Why do you say that?”
She shrugged. “I suppose it’s clear to me that your daughters were raised to respect themselves and demand that same kind of respect from the men in their lives.”
He considered her for a moment, then nodded before turning back to his food. “I would say the same about Thomas.”
His compliment had been unexpected, but the reaction that started inside her was even more so. She smiled, unable to repress this one. It wasn’t often that she was complimented for the way she’d raised her son. She’d always hoped that Thomas would turn out to be the kind of man that would make her proud but also a man who would show the world just how wonderful he could be. “Thank you,” she murmured.
Zeke glanced at her, gave her a tight nod, then gathered his dishes and headed to the sink. “We should probably get going.”
* * *
Over the next few weeks, while they didn’t speak much, Agatha felt she’d gotten a good feel for who Zeke was—the person behind all the gossip and soft-spoken words. He was a man of character. He was strong and sure of himself, but he cared for others in a way no one expected of him.
He was generous to a fault. Between what he’d done to help her get set up and what he’d done to help another nearby ranch, Agatha had a hard time trying to come up with things to hate about him.
The more time she spent with him, the more difficult it was to not find him utterly attractive. During the day she was plagued with the urge to ask him out on an official date. And at night she had to deal with dreams of those very events taking place.
It was getting to a point where she knew she needed to do something about it or it would drive her crazy.
On a Friday, they had to cut things short. The deliveries had been delayed due to some unforeseen situations and they simply ran out of work to do. The whole ride back to the cabin, as she clasped her hands tighter around his middle, she repeated the words in her head she wanted to say to him.
Asking a man out shouldn’t be this difficult. They lived in the modern era. And Zeke seemed to have warmed up to her. He was friendlier, he smiled more, and he didn’t seem to mind when she insisted on helping out at the house.
There were even a few moments when she thought he might say something, but then she thought better of it. Those were the moments when she could have sworn he was having the same kinds of feelings about her.
The ATV came to a stop, and she climbed off. This was her chance. They had an early day and she could ask him if he’d like to go get dinner. That simple.
But then Zeke started up the engine rather than climbing off the ATV. He gave her a nod, and the vehicle started moving forward.
Agatha didn’t know what possessed her, but she darted out in front of it. Her hands landed hard on the front, and she blushed the moment he shot her a surprised and almost lethal look. Zeke shut off the engine and stood. “What in the name of…” He tore his hat from his head and clutched it tightly in one hand. “You could have got yourself hurt.”
